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Saturday, December 7, 2013

Sweet Mexican Corn Cakes

It is cold. And icy. Never a good combination. It does make for the absolutely perfect day to stay indoors and do nothing. By nothing I mean cooking, eating and drinking hot tea and coffee and of course, cleaning up all the messes I've made. I started my day of nothing my making those delicious Sweet Buttermilk Biscuits and sausage gravy. It was the perfect southern breakfast!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Mexican food? Real Mexican food is fresh with so many bright flavors. I grew up eating the Americanized version of it though and it is delicious too. Does anyone remember how all the Mexican restaurants used to serve their entrees with a side of spoon bread? Honestly, that was my favorite part of the meal. Sweet, moist, melt-in-your-mouth spoon bread. Chi-chi's used to sell a mix at the grocery store which I made a lot. Then one day it just disappeared off the shelf. Such a sad day in my life! At that moment I knew I would need to find a way to recreate it. After much searching, I finally found it!! I would love to give you the website but I wrote it down on a piece of paper that is now slightly covered with masa and butter.

This recipe is super easy. My process of creating a bite sized way to serve this was not so easy. The original recipe is baked in an 8x8 pan in a water bath. Normally it's scooped out with an ice cream scoop but I've been searching for a way to make them into individual servings so they make for a prettier presentation. One day it finally hit me. My mini muffin tin. It worked like a charm! I have no idea why it took so long to come up with this solution!

This is a great appetizer for any gathering! I made these for Jen's graduation party and I'm not sure if her husband actually shared them or not. I think he ate 99% of them. They're just that good and topping them with fresh pico de gallo or salsa and sour cream makes them out of this world! It really seems like an odd combination at first. Sweet, spicy and creamy. Trust me. I sometimes dream about this taste combination.

In a medium size mixing bowl, cream butter, masa and water until well combined. Add corn meal, sugar, salt, baking powder and heavy cream. Mix well. Stir in the corn. The mixture will not be runny. It should be crumbly and somewhat stiff.

Liberally spray a 24 count mini muffin tin with canola or olive oil spray. Press the mixture into the mini muffin wells, filling them to the top. This will make exactly 24 individual corn cakes.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the edges start to brown slightly. Turn out onto a tray and top with salsa and sour cream.

I'm Aimee, and I was born and raised in Central Kentucky. As hard as I tried to escape, I'm back and embracing my Kentucky roots. I have a love affair with food. This stems from my childhood when my grandfather would give my cousins and I $1 for every time we cleaned our plates. Most notably this would happen at Biancke's restaurant in Cynthiana, Kentucky. This is where my story begins....